


Take My Hand

by alexcyprin (Megatraven)



Series: Silver and Gold [13]
Category: Labyrinths of Astoria (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coma, Kidnapping, Other, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24483559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megatraven/pseuds/alexcyprin
Summary: After a breakthrough in her case results in getting kidnapped, MC has to figure out a way to escape.Following the events of MC's kidnapping, Alex learns just what it means to hold onto hope through even the hardest moments.
Relationships: Alex Cyprin/Main Character
Series: Silver and Gold [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1572766
Kudos: 7





	Take My Hand

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt, "In need of some Alex angst. A short story where MC is kidnapped after she is sent to investigate an aura. Tries escaping only to fall down some stairs, end up in a coma for awhile and Alex tries to keep it together?" as requested by Anonymous on tumblr!

She’s running, the ache in her lungs the only thing to distract from the ache in her legs. Her ring sparks before fritzing out, her aura unable to form after Theseus had broken it.

“Come on, come on,” she mutters, trying to activate it again. When its golden light fails to come out, she curses, and takes the chance to look behind her.

No one’s there, and she thanks every god above that she seems to be alone. On shaking legs, she slows to a stop, bracing herself against the wall of the building. She takes a moment to breathe, rubbing at her wrists where ropes had bound her, searching her surroundings for some sign of an exit.

When no exit makes itself clear, she takes another breath, and starts creeping through the halls, wincing each time a light flickers or something makes a sound.

It’s slow going, but eventually she sees an exit sign, dimly lit and hanging over a set of stairs that- hopefully- will lead her outside. She starts toward it, slow so as not to make any noise, before she hears them.

Footsteps.

Footsteps getting closer.

She starts running.

Her body screams for her to stop, but if she does, she knows she won’t be able to break out again, and her aura still won’t activate. So she wills her legs to keep going, her lungs to keep breathing, her heart to keep _beating_ and then-

She crashes right into Theseus as she gets to the stairs. He isn’t prepared for it, and neither is she- he tries to grasp onto her while she tries to steady herself, but rather than saving himself, he pulls her down with him.

They fall down the stairs, Theseus first and MC right after him, until they land with a hard thud at the bottom. 

Everything hurts, and her vision swims, darkness creeping in from the edges. Something sharp stabs at her chest with each labored breath, and she prays to Apollo that it’s nothing fatal.

She can barely see by the time Theseus climbs to his feet, and its his silhouette, surrounded by the flickering light of the stairwell, that she closes her eyes upon.

For awhile, there’s nothing at all, other than the brief feel of _something_ that stirs her to consciousness every now and again. She thinks there was dragging- of her body, to somewhere cold and damp. And there was a short moment where she could hear the sounds of New York around her again.

But each of those instances paled to the moment Alex’s voice broke through to her. She couldn’t open her eyes, could hardly even breathe, let alone say their name like she wanted to, reassure them that she’s alright now that they’re with her. But she can’t

The darkness drags her back under.

_________________________________

Alex stares at their reflection in the mirror, meeting their own gaze but looking beyond it. They haven’t recognized the person who stares back in months now, but they don’t have time to think about that, anyways.

Like always, their thoughts go back to MC, and guilt threatens to squeeze their heart until it gives out completely.

It should’ve been a simple case, open and shut. It _was_ a simple case. Investigate an aura that would lead her to a lesser artifact. But she had found more than that, uncovered something bigger, something sinister. 

They should have been with her.

One second she was video-calling them, her words shooting out quick as she tried filling them in on everything she’d found. And the next, they heard her scream. Her phone flew somewhere and they could hear her struggle, and though they’d already started racing to track the call- the struggle ended, someone came close, and the call went silent.

They had arrived at the scene as quick as they could, but it didn’t matter. Her phone lay crushed in the warehouse she’d been investigating, and...

She was gone.

They searched for days without any sign of her, no clues at all. They would never give up on finding her, but their hopes grew harder and harder to cling to.

But finally, _finally_ they’d gotten a lead, and it wasn’t long after that their agents found her and brought her back to HERA. She had several broken bones, a lot of internal bleeding, and cuts and bruises marred nearly ever inch of her skin, but she was _alive_.

They were so relieved then, they couldn’t have possibly prepared themself for what came next:

Months of waiting.

Even as she healed, she didn’t wake up. Alex trades all of their favors with Apollo for him to help her, but even he could do nothing.

_“I can’t wake her, Alex. She’s the one keeping herself locked away. I can’t force her to wake back up without the risk of damaging her beyond what I can heal. This is something she has to do herself. I’m sorry.”_

The god’s words still ring in Alex’s ears.

They shake their head of the memories and splash water on their face, running their fingers through their hair a few times. It isn’t styled neatly anymore, just barely combed through with the comb their mother left for them. It makes them sick to think of keeping up appearances when all they want is to stay by MC’s side.

With a sigh, they turn the water off and go to leave, pausing in the door frame only to look at MC in her entirety. She’s robed in a hospital gown and has been since she arrive. All of her cuts and bruises have faded away, and if Alex didn’t know any better, they would think she’s simply sleeping.

Though, in a way, they suppose that _is_ what she’s doing.

Alex settles back into their chair and leans forward, as they always do. They take her hand in theirs and brush their lips over he knuckles, whispering into her skin all the ‘I love you’s they never got to tell her.

Silver sparks at their fingertips as they brush their hand over the silver of her ring’s band. It’s been cold since she’d been recovered, and it was silly of them, but they hoped their aura would be able to jump start its warmth, that it could help her mend whatever had ripped in the fabric of her mind.

Their aura was absorbed by it once again, and thought it glowed briefly, the light soon faded and it was cold once more. Alex eyed it mournfully for a moment before they laid her hand down and reached for her other one.

The second ring she wore wasn’t so special as an artifact, but... it had come from them, after a year of waiting to give it to her. The silver flower that blooms from it sparkles in the light of the room, and their heart aches.

“Please come back to me,” they whisper, pressing a kiss to the diamond, letting their aura jump from their lips to the metal despite it being an ordinary ring.

They watched with half-lidded eyes, as silver dissipates against her skin. Exhaustion creeps back up on them, and they bow their head over, resting her hand against their forehead.

Taking a shuddering breath, their eyes flutter close, and they swallow down the emotions that try to choke them.

After a moment, they speak again.

“It’s okay, MC. I understand,” they murmur, although it breaks them. “Take as long as you need. I’ll be right here, I swear it.”

Sleep begins to overtake them, a blessing and a curse in that it keeps them away from her, but grants them the chance to see her happy again. They’re just on the edge of consciousness, ready to fall over it when a movement jolts them fully awake.

Her hand squeezes against their own.

It’s not very strong, and they think they might’ve imagined it, in that little space where dreams and reality are hard to tell apart. But she does it again, and they squeeze back.

“MC?” they ask, unable to mask the hope in their voice.

Nothing.

Their heart begins to fall.

“Please... please, I need you. I love you.” Their words catch on a sob, and it’s useless to fight against the wave of tears that stream their way down Alex’s face. They cry freely, not even bothering to wipe they away, not when it means they would have to drop her hand.

Somewhere in the midst of it all, she squeezes their hand again, and a small sound escapes her, shocking them into staring once more.

It hurts, to keep on hoping, when they know it could be nothing more than a nightmare she’s suffering through and reacting to. But if they weren’t to hope for her, then there would be no point in... anything.

So, they hoped. With all of their soul, and every piece of their heart, they hoped. The pain that came with hoping would always be worth it, if it meant not giving up on the woman that they gave their forever to.

And that hope was finally paying off.

She squeezes again, stronger this time. Alex holds onto her and grabs hold of her other hand as well, squeezing back with all their might. She responds in kind, and their heart skips a beat. They push up out of their chair, hovering over her and searching her face for any kind of sign that she’s waking up.

For some time, seconds or hours, they stand there, waiting, and then-

“...lex.”

They hold her hands to their chest.

“I’m here. MC, I’m here,” they breathe. “Right here.”

Her face scrunches up, and it’s a lance through their heart that she looks like she’s in pain before her features smooth back out. Several beats of their heart pass before something in her face twitches, and her eyes- her beautiful, beautiful brown eyes- flutter open.

“Alex.”

It’s only their name, but it’s all their heart has yearned for, and the dam breaks, flooding them with every bit of longing, heartache, pain, and relief they could possibly feel.

They cry openly, smiling at her- and then they laugh, when she pulls one of her hands away and brushes a tear from their cheek.

“MC. You’re here.”

She smiles back at them, then, and their heart put itself back together.

Everything they’d endured, everything they’d done and shoved away and buried down deep-

All of it was worth it.

Hoping was worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and Kudos appreciated!
> 
> If you'd like to request something, or just talk about lovestruck in general, you can send an ask to my sideblog @official-alex-cyprin or my main @megatraven on tumblr! Any requests I receive for characters I haven't met/played through yet will be saved in my inbox until I have met/played them!


End file.
